HC order's notices to state's education, finance secretaries

Lokmat News Network

Aurangabad, Nov 26:

The Aurangabad Bench of Bombay High Court comprising Justice S V Gangapurwala and Justice R N Ladda has ordered serving of notices to the state's secretary (education) and secretary (finance) in connection with a petition filed challenging the state government's decision of abolishing Class IVth posts and replace them with contractual personnel

in private affiliated secondary and higher secondary schools. The next hearing on the petition will be held on January 18, 2022.

The petition has been filed by the Suburban Education Society's secretary Jayant Lalsare and the headmaster of the same society's Sanskar Prabhodini High School through Adv Vithalrao Salgare. The petitioners claimed that the government's order dated December 11, 2020, is against the interest of the schools and the students. It is wrong to fix the posts of Class IVth personnel compared to the ratio of the students in the respective school. It is a sheer violation of Service Rules and policy providing Equal Work Equal Wages. The order leads to differences between the schools run by the government and private management. It is an injustice on our part as the staffing pattern of the private schools had been revised, while the staffing pattern of other schools and posts had not been revised, stated the petition.

The petitioners have urged to regularise the posts of Class IVth personnel and accept the payscale sanctioned under Maharashtra Employees of Private Schools (Conditions of Service) Rules, 1981. The petition also underlined the provision made on the basis of the Chiplunkar Committee's recommendations and the High School Conduct.

It may be noted that the government through its order dated December 11, 2020, has abolished all the posts falling under Class IVth category - like sevak, naik, chawkidar, sanitary worker, water supply personnel, gardener, watchman etc. Instead the order made a provision of appointing sevaks contractual basis by paying meagre wages to them.